Assessment and Intervention Sydney K. M. Britton Grant MacEwan University, Social Work SOWK 330: Trauma Informed Practice Jerris Popik, M.S.W., R.S.W. April 9, 2024 Reason for Initial Referral Kelly Duncan, a thirteen-year-old girl, was referred by a medical social worker, who had first contact with her at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, to a clinical social worker to do an in-depth trauma assessment. Kelly was admitted to the hospital following a potential suicide attempt by cutting. During her care, Kelly disclosed that she had been sexually abused by her uncle for the past year, and she had been engaging in self-harming behaviours to cope. Kelly’s uncle, Steve, recently moved in with Kelly and her family following his separation from his wife. Most days, Steve …show more content…
Secondly, we would do an evaluation of Kelly’s trauma exposure history, which considers the age of onset, the nature and type of the trauma, and the number of traumas (different types and recurrence rate). Briere and Lanktree (2013) find that “clients may interpret trauma labels in different ways,” and so “evaluation of trauma exposure is often more effective when it employs behavioural descriptions of the event (s)” (p. 13). Structured measures, such as the Initial Trauma Review for Adolescence (ITR-A), use behavioural descriptors and can be adapted to accommodate the client where they are, which would be the best fit for Kelly (Briere and Lanktree, 2013, p. 177-182). From what we have learned talking with Kelly, she was psychologically and sexually abused by her uncle, Steve, for around a year, beginning when she was twelve. Evans and Coccoma (2014) define this situation as personal trauma, which is “an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that are experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or
From the presentation, the most important thing I learned was that statistically, more than 60 percent of the population has experienced some sort of trauma and it could lead to substance use, depression and risky
The first happened when she was cooking food for herself on the stove, and she caught on fire. Instead of reacting how a “typical” three year-old would, if burned (never going near the stove or fire again), she did the exact opposite. Although she was covered in third-degree burns all over her body, she still went home and kept on cooking her food as if nothing had happened. “The neighbor lady who had driven me to the hospital was surprised that I didn’t run in the opposite direction from any fire I saw” (15). Here, she experienced post-traumatic growth because she did not fall back to the baseline, but exceeded it by being able to not feel afraid or distressed by the traumatic event that had occurred. As time passed, the traumatic events began to happen more frequently. The next traumatic experiences happened to all be forms of sexual assault. Beginning with the neighbor boy who inappropriately touched her, moving to her uncle fondling her, and ending with the stranger that climbed through her window into her bed—waking to him groping her. Finally, she found the courage to tell her mom about her uncle touching her, but her mother told her to brush it off and act as if it never had taken place. “She said that
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Obviously, working with survivors of child sexual abuse, neglect, and trauma: The approach taken by the social worker in the Brandon’s case shall begin with “assessment and beginning treatment of the family because child abuse is one of a wide range practice situation in which systems concepts can be applied to help to understand the dynamics involved” in the road for healing and recovery from the physical and psychological effect of the trauma by providing adequate resources available for counseling and therapy due to the devastating impacts of child sexual abuse can be heartbreaking for the victim and the family. However, social worker approach to understanding and responds efficiently by being empathetic to the complex situation as a result; the perpetrator is the father such as in the case of Brandon (Plummer, Makris, & Brocksen, 2014).
... middle of paper ... ... Retrieved from Senia: http://www.senia.com/2007/09/24/5-specific-techniques-from-positive-psychology-more-productive-more-successful-happier/. Retrieved on 10/20/13. Network, F. R. (2010-2013). Trauma Abuse Treatment -.
From research through SAHMSA and increased knowledge through my choice in graduate-level courses, I learned how to best integrate a trauma-informed approach into my clinical practice. This example from my concentration practice shows how I sought to choose interventions from an evidence-based practice perspective, seeking to meet my clients and support their dignity and worthwhile also using approaches and interventions which have been shown effective through research. Although a trauma-informed perspective would have been beneficial in my foundation internship, it became imperative in my concentration internship and I increased my competency and supported the dignity and worth of my clients by choosing to learn about and integrate a trauma-informed approach in my clinical practice.
Trauma-Informed Care and Practice is a strengths-based framework grounded in an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma, that emphasises physical, psychological, and emotional safety for both providers and survivors, and that creates opportunities for survivors to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment. Trauma Informed Care is an organizational structure and treatment framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma.
Social workers are generalist practitioners that utilize various theoretical frameworks to assist in problem-solving for individuals, family, groups, and communities. They aim to provide interventions at any level based on the need of their clients. The generalist social worker assist with a broad scope problems and can be found in a variety of institutions. When assisting with adult clients who suffer with social development due to childhood trauma, social workers must know what trauma is. Trauma is prevalent in the social work community, almost every social worker has had a client that has suffered from trauma. In order to assist adults that have social development issues stemming from childhood there are The four-fold principles
The weight of constantly listening to difficult, harrowing, and upsetting events in other people’s lives can have negative impacts on therapists, especially for those who are inadequately trained or who have poor coping mechanisms. While most therapists deal with this strain, it is particularly true of those who work consistently work with patients who have experienced trauma. Trauma refers to an individual's exposure to actual or threatened harm, fear of death or injury, or witnessing violence. Common forms of trauma seen in therapy environments are rape, abuse, victims of crimes, accidents, and disasters. Trauma work requires specialized training and support in order to be effective for the clients and to help to deal with, minimize, and
From the formation of relationships and connections between victims and abusers to the continuation of the cycle of abuse, trauma bonding highlights the need for greater awareness and support for individuals who have experienced
According to the American Psychological Association, trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event. Some terrible events that happen all too often are rape, natural disasters or an accident. Immediately following the event shock and denial are likely to occur, but in the long-term flashbacks, unpredictable emotions and troubled relationships can arise. Defining emotional trauma on a child. Emotional trauma in a child can be created by bullying, emotional abuse, death of loved ones, separation from parent, or chaos and dysfunction in the household. Child symptoms of trauma can be very similar to depression symptoms. They can over sleep or sleep to little, unexplained anger, trouble focusing, obsessive worrying and some anxiety. How a child experiences an event and how it’s handled by those around him have an effect on how traumatizing it can be, notes Dr. Jerry Bubrick (Child Mind Institute , 2017). People grieve at different speeds and the way the child grieves is not the correct indicator on how the child will cope later. Defining physical trauma on a child. Physical trauma on a child is considered non-accidental or the cause of physical injury. Some households that suffer from alcoholism/substance abuse and anger issues have higher occurrences of child abuse as compared to households without according to psychology today. Sometimes kids that are abused are unaware that they are being abused and are victims of child
(Vawnet, 2015) Trauma may be defined as an event outside the range of usual human experiences that would be markedly distressing to almost anyone and cause victimization. This includes a serious threat to his or her life or physical integrity; a serious threat to harm his or her children, spouse or close relatives or friends; the sudden destruction of his or her home and community; or seeing another person seriously injured or killed in an accident or by physical violence. Trauma can destroy the trust relationship of the victim with themselves and the world. This creates an inordinate amount of stress on the mental, emotional and physical capacities of the victim whose coping behaviours and belief structures have been shattered by trauma.
Trauma is a psychological reaction to sudden traumatic events and overwhelming issues from outside. Additionally, the exposure to activities that are outside the human’s normal experiences. Traumatic events become external and incorporate into the mind (Bloom, 1999, p. 2). Traumatization happens when the internal and external forces do not appropriately cope with the external threat. Furthermore, trauma causes problems because the client’s mind and body react in a different way and their response to social groups. The symptoms of trauma relate to irritability, intrusive thoughts, panic and anxiety, dissociation and trance-like states, and self-injurious behaviors (Bloom, 1999, p. 2). Childhood trauma happens when they live in fear for the lives of someone they love (Bloom, 1999, p. 2). Judith Herman’s trauma theory states that the idea of repressed memories relates to unconscious behavior. These repressed behaviors include those inhibited behaviors relate to memories of childhood abuse. From McNally’s point of view memories of trauma cannot be repressed especially those that are more violent (Suleiman, 2008, p. 279). In addition, one of the theories used to dealing with trauma includes the coping theory. With situations, people tend to use problem-solving and emotion-focused coping. Emotion-focused coping happens when people are dealing with stressors. When the stressors become more